* WINNER OF THE PINCKLEY PRIZE FOR BEST DEBUT NOVEL *'Beautifully written, with an appealing central character' - GUARDIAN'A starkly beautiful piece of American noir' - TARIQ ASHKANANIMinnesota, 1971. Nineteen-year-old Renee 'Cash' Blackbear spends her days playing pool, drinking beer and driving trucks for the local wheat farmers. Bounced around foster homes like so many other Ojibwe children, Cash doesn't bother much with friends - except her guardian, Sheriff Wheaton, who's kept an eye out for her since she went into the system.When the body of a murdered Ojibwe man is found discarded in a cornfield, Wheaton asks Cash for help. The residents of the nearby Red Lake Reservation have good reason to distrust outsiders, and Cash may be the only one who can get them to talk. But racial tensions run deep along the Red River, and soon Cash isn't only searching for justice: she's fighting for her life.'Oozes lyrical prose, an exquisite sense of place and truly authentic characters' - HEATHER CRITCHLOW'With thoughtful writing that resonates and a great protagonist. Cash Blackbear is unforgettable' - CAROLINE HULSE
* SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD *'An addictive and authentically Native crime series' - LOUISE ERDRICH'Cash Blackbear is unforgettable' - CAROLINE HULSEMinnesota, 1971. Renee 'Cash' Blackbear is a freshman at Moorhead State College. Between classes, driving trucks and policing her brother - a man who, until recently, she hadn't seen since they were taken from the White Earth Reservation as children - Cash has little time for solving crimes with her mentor and friend Sheriff Wheaton.When one of her classmates suddenly vanishes, the other students assume she's simply gone home. But soon Cash's dreams become haunted by visions of terrified girls begging for help. Then a teenager from a nearby town disappears, and Cash knows that the sheriff will need her insight if there's any chance of finding these young women... before it's too late.
'Addictive and authentically Native. I want a shelf of Cash Blackbear novels' - LOUISE ERDRICH'Rendon writes the way Anishinaabe people view the world - full of rich descriptions and layered storytelling' - ANGELINE BOULLEYSpring, 1972. Red River Valley has flooded, the cornfields transformed into an icy, snowmelt lake. As the waters flow into the small town of Ada, they bring with them the body of an unidentified woman. The only clue on her person: a page torn from a hymnal, linking her to the White Earth Reservation.Cash Blackbear - friend and confidant to the town's sheriff - is no stranger to White Earth. She once called the reservation her home, until she was thrust into the foster care system like so many other Ojibwe children. After a reluctant visit to the reservation's radical church, Cash becomes embroiled in the lives of the strange pastor and his wife. But what secrets are they hiding? And who is buried in the unmarked graves outside?